I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1093: You're Just Jealous]

It was noon at Firefly Studios.

Eric and Robert Byer, the visual effects supervisor for Gravity, had just stepped out of the Digital Domain studio, planning to grab some lunch together. As Eric's phone rang, he answered, said a few words, and then parted ways with Robert, heading to his office at the studio.

Pushing the office door open, he spotted Elisabeth, dressed in a professional suit, sitting in a leather chair behind his desk, openly flipping through a document.

Eric walked over, smiling as he took the materials from Elisabeth's hands. Leaning against the desk, he teased, "Even if you're trying to spite your dad, you don't have to move the office here, do you? The studio is so big!"

Hearing Eric bring up a sore point, Elisabeth immediately pouted. She had been in New York for a week, but nothing could stop that woman from working at Fox Television.

"They say they're handing over the Fox business to me, huh, as if I didn't know, control freak," she complained, looking at Eric with her arms crossed. "You're a control freak too. All you men are control freaks."

"You finally understand this harsh reality," Eric said, pulling the chair closer to him. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, laughing, "Are you disappointed in the world now, wanting to take revenge on society?"

Elisabeth tilted her head and pretended to bite Eric's finger, flashing him a playful warning with her white teeth.

Eric, undeterred, moved his finger closer. Realizing what he was trying to do, Elisabeth quickly loosened her grip, puffing her cheeks out in feigned indignation. "You're such a jerk, picking on me."

"Okay, no more angry faces," Eric said, pulling out a tissue from a compartment under his desk to wipe his hands. "Are you hungry? Shall we go grab a bite?"

Elisabeth shook her head, slightly sulking, "Not hungry. I'm planning to diet for the day, and you're coming with me."

Eric chuckled, "How about we make it a week? Just write your will first, and remember to leave the mountaintop villa to me. Give that one at Trousdale Manor to Julia."

Elisabeth rolled her eyes dramatically, "Dream on."

Seeing her fiery spirit dim a bit, he suggested, "How about we just go out to eat?"

"I'm really not hungry. I'll wait a bit," Elisabeth said as she shrank into the chair, pointing at the computer screen on the desk, "So, you and Julia are betting on this, huh?"

Eric turned his head to take a look and noticed the glowing computer screen displayed the official site for The Blair Witch Project.

The small team managing The Blair Witch Project's site worked efficiently, and with Firefly's resource support, they had set up the film's website in just three days.

A few days ago, after discussing the concept of viral marketing with the small team, Eric hadn't put too much thought into it afterward.

For this film, which previously created a box office miracle with its faux-documentary style, Eric mostly cared about the chance to play around with it; if it succeeded, great, but if it failed, it was no big deal. After all, as Firefly expanded to its current scale, running an honest operation was the way forward -- going too far in chasing shortcuts would only backfire.

Moreover, looking at the past trends, if Artisan Entertainment bought and successfully operated this film, it might net $140 million domestic.

Movie attendance in North America has remained quite stable over the years, and it hadn't been until recently that ticket prices started to push the box office past the $7 billion mark. A $140 million gross would represent one-fiftieth of the total North American box office. If Artisan took this money, other Hollywood studios would lose out on that same amount. Given Firefly's market share, it felt essentially like they were losing money.

Of course, part of Eric's intention behind replicating The Blair Witch Project's marketing was to showcase the Internet's powerful outreach capabilities. "It's a marketing experiment. I want to show the industry just how powerful online advertising can be. You know, a lot of traditional advertisers are skeptical about the effectiveness of Internet ads. If this works, I think more will recognize the potential of online platforms."

"I just read the information on that website. If I didn't already know everything was a hoax, I might've almost believed it," Elisabeth said. "But do you really think this movie can make $100 million? Julia told me it's simply terrible."

"Who knows? Hollywood never lacks surprises."

Elisabeth's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Well then, in that case, I'm taking that bet. If you lose, you have to help Fox make a movie."

"And if I win?"

"Then I'll help Firefly make a film."

"Are you sure you can handle making a movie?"

"Absolutely," Elisabeth said, raising her chin proudly. "I'm a legit Media Studies graduate, unlike some people who didn't even go to college."

Eric shrugged dismissively, chuckling, "Well, you should know that in Hollywood, everyone's uneducated. Those who went to college are the ones looked down upon."

"Ugh, you're just jealous," Elisabeth lightly smacked Eric and returned to discussing The Blair Witch Project. "By the way, using real events to market this film, if it gets exposed, that could be a real problem, right?"

"True," Eric acknowledged. "So before it releases, the company will definitely clarify that this is just a marketing campaign."

He had contemplated this issue himself. When Artisan was a small player, they successfully tricked everyone with their marketing scheme, and media attention focused on the box office miracle of The Blair Witch Project, so no one questioned their obvious deceitful tactics.

Artisan could afford to do that, but Firefly could not. This was one reason why Eric didn't expect The Blair Witch Project to replicate past box office success.

Firefly's ambitions were too grand; if The Blair Witch Project succeeded at the box office again without any clarifying statements beforehand, countless people would pounce on them. In a society like North America, where even a wrong look could lead to litigation, Firefly would face a slew of lawsuits.

Elisabeth asked again, "So when do you plan to release it?"

"I'll see how it goes," Eric mused. "For a topic like this, a month of buildup should be enough. If we take too long, people's curiosity might fade. Perhaps in March."

Since it was only for fun, Eric surely wouldn't schedule The Blair Witch Project during prime summer release windows.

After chatting a bit more, Eric reached out to pull Elisabeth up from her chair. "Come on, let's go to Venice Beach."

Elisabeth no longer refused, linking her arm with Eric's as they walked out of the office. "Oh, by the way, are you going to the Golden Globe Awards tomorrow night?"

Eric shook his head, "Nope."

...

The past year had been phenomenal for Hollywood in box office terms, boasting global box office juggernauts like Charlie's Angels 3, Mission: Impossible 3, and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, along with sleeper hits such as The Ring.

In contrast, the indie film market had dimmed significantly, leading to one of the least exciting award seasons in recent years.

This awards season, two films that seemed promising, either The Horse Whisperer or Elizabeth, fell far short of the acclaim received by previous blockbusters like Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump, and Schindler's List.

Eric had no interest in this year's Oscars, let alone the buzz surrounding the Golden Globes.

As expected, under Miramax's strong PR campaign, The Horse Whisperer easily scooped up most nominations at the Golden Globes the next day, while only Cate Blanchett from the Elizabeth crew snagged a win for Best Actress in a Drama -- thanks to The Horse Whisperer not competing for the same award.

When the Oscar nominations were announced, The Horse Whisperer led the pack with ten nominations.

...

This year, the Golden Globes took place on January 29, followed closely by Super Bowl on January 31 in Miami, Florida, which was the second time FOX broadcasted the Super Bowl since securing exclusive broadcasting rights.

The biggest highlight of this Super Bowl was undoubtedly the wave of ads from new tech companies. Yahoo, Microsoft, Cisco, Amazon, and Intel, among others, had a significant presence, reflecting a society increasingly immersed in the Internet era.

Yet, among them, the trailer for Iron Man garnered a massive amount of attention.

A 30-second Super Bowl ad couldn't fit too much information, but besides the quick glimpse of Iron Man's suit, audiences were undoubtedly buzzing about Eric, the actor playing Tony Stark.

Despite the makeup making the deep chestnut-haired, bearded Tony Stark look completely different from the real Eric, many couldn't help but excitedly discuss the various connections between the two characters. Naturally, Eric's status as North America's -- indeed, the world's -- richest superhero further fueled discussions.

In just a few days, the topic dominated trending charts across major online platforms.

In the following days, Firefly officially rolled out the first television trailer for Iron Man across major networks, heralding the final wave of promotional efforts leading up to the film's release. Some cast and crew members also began appearing sporadically on television talk shows to promote the film slated for release in three months.

...

As Iron Man started regular promotions, an online rumor circulated about several college students mysteriously disappearing after visiting the Blair Witch location in Maryland.

The key to viral marketing is a captivating topic paired with a significant online interaction network to spread it.

The North American middle class, living their predictable lives but inherently eager for adventure, couldn't resist the allure surrounding the 'missing' students -- creating an eye-catching effect crucial for viral marketing.

Moreover, as the country with the highest Internet penetration, North America had PCs that were catching up to TV and VCR ownership -- even while many parts of the world were still learning what a personal computer was. In 1998, over 93 million PCs were sold worldwide, with North America claiming 70%.

By the end of the previous year, the number of Internet users in North America had crossed the 100 million mark, equating to a third of the total population. This massive user base provided a significant foundation of popularity for the Blair Witch events.

With these two key elements in place and all insiders having re-signed comprehensive non-disclosure agreements, no one had come forward to expose the truth, thus the Blair Witch rumors evolved into a viral storm.

The Blair Witch Project's website was steadily releasing detailed background stories, search and rescue information from local troops, witness accounts, and updates, all creating a smorgasbord of convincing yet misleading content that stoked even greater curiosity.

In just a week, curious adventurers began gathering in the small town of Burkittsville, Maryland, to inquire with puzzled locals about the purported Blair Witch.

As things escalated, the local Maryland government even had to step in to clarify the situation; however, growing up amid various conspiracy theories, the North American public was unlikely to believe any official rebuttal. The situation continued to snowball.

..

Seeing the rapid development exceeding his expectations, Eric quickly decided to set the release date for The Blair Witch Project on March 5.

However, to be cautious, he only arranged for 200 screens for the film's debut. Regardless, given how things were progressing, even with prior fact-checks before the public, interest in the topic might still drop significantly, leading Firefly to at least make a modest profit.

On that note, while only screening on 200 screens, it would still be considered a significant investment, especially compared to Artisan's ability in the original timeline, which had only secured around 20 theaters for the Blair Witch's debut. This also showcased the deep-rooted strength of Hollywood's major companies.

Since it was an off-year for the Oscars, Hollywood typically bustling in February appeared markedly quieter this year.

...

Eric continued to diligently work on post-production for Gravity while, toward the end of February, he flew to New York to finalize the stock transfer deal involving 3.1% shares with AOL and Clover Holdings.

On February 16, after nearly six months of negotiations, AOL and Time Warner reached a preliminary merger agreement. They would publicly announce the merger once they reclaimed the shares directly held by Firefly, subsequently submitting the merger proposal for review by the Federal Trade Commission.

*****

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